22 April, 2011

Here are a few updates on projects. We've received a bunch of e-mails asking about these.

Camping Racks- After much testing, fitting, measuring, and pondering the first prototypes, we sent off revised drawing for the camping racks. We hope to have second generation prototypes in about 6 weeks. I really want to get these right and am not pushing to have them done quickly. So there is no ETA; we'll do another round or two of prototypes if needed.

The new Polyvalent 650b- The final (I hope) upgraded fork is complete and should arrive here next week. If it is right we'll schedule production. The factory says they can complete the frames in about 3 months (add another for shipping) but there are always delays, always.

VO and Grand Cru cassette hubs- The high-low VO hubs are steaming toward us even as I write this, so late May. The high flange Grand Cru Touring hubs should be air-freighted around mid-May. We'll offer some on the site and have some built up into wheels.

The Freewheel- After about 1500 miles of testing the first one started making a clicking noise. We took it apart to find lot of wear, grit inside, and a bad ball bearing. If this is the best freewheel made in Taiwan, as I was told, then we're very disappointed. It's no better than any of the current offering. To make it right it would need proper seals, better bearings, larger pawls, etc. On the bright side, the cogs still looked great. Next time I'm in Taiwan I'll see how much it would cost to make the needed improvements, but I'm pretty sure that the tooling costs will be prohibitive.

Below is our new magazine ad. I guess we're finally going to start paying more attention to print advertising, something we've neglected up to now.

So we might see the Polyvalent frames this summer? That's a lot sooner than you had indicated when I emailed a few months ago. It's always nice to see something happen ahead of schedule for a change instead of the other way around. Fingers crossed!

I'm also wondering which publications this ad may appear in. I would suggest the Washington Post Sunday magazine. I would also suggest adding "frames" or even "bicycles" to the text. VO "makes" more parts than RBW and the ad should pique people's curiosity about a bike called Velo Orange.

Candidate for City Council in Washington, DC has nothing to do with Velo-Orange, but it amuses me, and I hope some others, to find something that does "rhyme with orange." And the tow-path does begin in Washington.

Thanks for the updates. Will there be any new sizes offered for the Polyvalent? 62cm? And while I like the pic for the ad, I don't get it and I'm not sure how it will work to draw in new customers for you.

I have one other question/comment: despite being cheaper and shorter-lived than classic high-end freewheels in any number of ways, are the current road-gearing type (not x-34 Megarange comfort bike type) Shimano freewheels really all that bad, even for a more serious rider? It seems like there's gobs and gobs of them out there and you rarely ever hear of problems. Do they have some kind of performance shortcoming in terms of engagement or something compared to nicer old freewheels?

Nice ad, but it seems I might put it in my pocket for now if I were you, seeing as there are not many frames (if any) to be had. People might be disappointed to come to the site after seing the ad only to find no bikes???

Chris, any chance VO might make a cassette? Something similar to the 8spd Sheldon Specials that Harris used to sell? I had a 13-30 that was great. Unfortunately Harris Cyclery is no longer selling 8 speed versions of these.

I purchased a VO FW hub recently but have already had problems with an IRD freewheel which is really disappointing. I wish I hadn't even purchased the FW hub. They don't really seem worth selling if quality FW aren't readily available. If someone is going to have to use a vintage FW with it, why not just pair it to a vintage hub.

We might offer Campy cassette bodies, but a better solution is to use Shimano cassettes with a Campy spacer kit (Wheels Manufacturing make the ones I use). It's less expensive in the long run and you have a much wider choice of hubs and cassettes.

What is missing in the fork world is a 700c/650b/27in fork with low rider bosses mid fork, two m5 braze ons near the dropout and canti bosses in a 1" threaded fork. You could do this with a long generic steeerer for older frames. Let the local shop cut and thread it, paint or powder on your own.